Macau is as far away from achieving true diversification of its tourism industry as ever, with a lack of collaboration between the government and IR operators preventing the SAR from establishing a coherent brand strategy.
The tough assessment was delivered by Professor Glenn McCartney on Wednesday during a keynote address at a France Macau Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Meeting at Ponte 16.
“We have in fact become more reliant on gaming revenues and more reliant on a single market, being China, and within that single market Guangzhou comprises 45% of our visitation, so we haven’t even diversified within China,” said McCartney, Associate Professor of International Integrated Resort Management at the University of Macau.
“Nearly 7.5 million Chinese went to Japan (in 2018) without gaming being the reason, so there are a lot of Chinese travelling overseas, but not to Macau. Why? One reason is our branding strategy.”
McCartney said that one key problem facing Macau tourism was the different goals of the government, which is pushing a more mass-market focused tourist mix, compared with operators and their VIP and Premium Mass target.
“The IRs have to deliver on their bottom line, so they’re going to go after the customer that can spend the most which means they’ll stick with VIP and Premium Mass. In fact, they will look to grow that market so they will give comped rooms,” he said.
McCartney suggested the only way for Macau to truly become diversified was for the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) to sit down with operators and devise a collaborative pathway forward.
“The MGTO is responsible for enforcement of licenses for restaurants and hotels, but it needs to work with the industry not just as an enforcer but also as a partner, recognising that the IRs are key to revenue,” he added. “That has got to be the framework.”
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